FU YINGYING, a 24-year-old woman who intended to start a new life in Shenzhen, never expected her plan would be changed by a sudden fire in her rented apartment.

At 10:30 p.m. on July 2, the second day after she settled down in the city, Fu was seriously injured by a fire, which was caused when the water heater in her bathroom exploded.

Fu was preparing to take a shower in the bathroom of her apartment in Pingshan District. However, when she turned on the water heater, it suddenly exploded, and her body was engulfed in flames, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

Hearing the explosion, the apartment’s sublessor immediately went upstairs, called the police and brought Fu to a hospital. Fu was diagnosed with severe burns covering 93 percent of her body. She is currently receiving treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital.

According to the sublessor, the water heater was suddenly set ablaze and the flames immediately covered Fu. She ran out of the bathroom in horror. Both the bathroom door and the kitchen door were pushed to the floor by the force of the blast. The iron gate at the main entrance was also deformed.

Fu’s sister said their family is not well-off and Fu’s doctors said it is likely that Yingying will need to be treated in the ICU for at least a month. The hospital told them that they could apply for medical assistance, but they must first affirm who is responsible for the accident.

However, Fu’s family said no department was willing to help them with the documentation.

At first, the Kengzi Police Station and the Kengzi Subdistrict’s safety supervision department passed the buck to one another, the family claimed.

According to a lawyer, the public security department is responsible for carrying out an investigation and issuing an accident report. The family can file a lawsuit in light of the report, and a liability statement about the accident will be issued by the court.